In high school, I came across my mother’s copy of George Carlin’s FM & AM album and pretty much had it memorized in about a week. I loved him, his brilliance and his humor, so much. When I found out that he had died, I immediately flashed back to my old living room, lying on the floor for hours listening to his routines over and over.
There’s far better eulogizers than me out there, and a lot of people have been quoting Carlin’s infamous “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” today in honor of his passing, but my favorite routine will always be my first introduction to him. It was his HBO special, What Am I Doing in New Jersey?… I wore that VHS tape out and most of that routine is still burned into my brain. To this day, I keep his advice on how to keep people alert close to my heart.
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There is never a day that I drive through the tollbooth and want to say “I’ve got no more money, I’ve spent it all on pussy and beer.” (see 3:14 mark)
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RIP George, you will be missed more than I can say.
